I bought a single 1PT., 6FL. OZ bottle at Star Liquor in Ashland Wisconsin for $4.49 in Spring 2011.

Pours a smooth dark brown color with a slight bit of carbonation. Proclaims on it's bottle to be a "Bourbon Barrel Coffee Mint Stout." From the scent I can definetly pick out the peppermint and coffee along with some robust malts. There is an explosion of flavors in it's taste. Mainly sweet carmel malts stand out with the taste of coffee and a dash of sweet peppermint. Perhaps what makes this beer the best is it's bourbon barrel process in combination with the ingredients used. Fairly robust and delicious. Granted I'm drinking this in the summer but this would make a great Christmas present as a stocking stuffer.

Dark mahogany brown bodied with a mocha-tan head that fades quickly but laces well.
Fudgy, chocolate mint aroma backed with mild roast coffee. Vanilla creeps in as the primary barrelled note, but later (especially with warmth) charred oak and toasted coconut materialize.
The aroma hints that it brings loads of unbridled sweetness, and though sweet-leaning, that's not that case.
Powdered cocoa, light roast coffee beans, and macadamia nuts stroll through the mouth first. Mint seems to levitate above it all, adding fresh peppery notes from start to swallow. It's an assertive flavor, but it never gets obnoxious. It deepens and sweetens midway, as it congeals towards fudge and vanilla-mint ice cream. Some flashes of berries and dark fruit pass through. Bourbon barrel traits are on the low side, but better for it. Toasted coconut, vanilla, and oak. There's just enough woody, tannic dryness to balance.
It's not a monster stout, but it's sturdy enough. Glossy and sleek in feel, with a low, almost hard to detect level of CO2, but it's there when one pays attention. It's never sticky or cloying.
A sweetish, chocolatey stout base, perked up with coffee and mint, and given the Bourbon barrel treatment seems like an enticing recipe that has a likelihood for confusion and chaos. The fact that everything seems cohesive and sensible here is a compliment of the highest order.
This is an experiment that is greater than the sum of its parts...and there are a lot of parts here.

On-tap at the Maduro cigar bar here in Madison. A lucky treat as the brewery is a mere 6 or 7 hours north of Madison.

Pours a stoutly black with a skim of cream atop. Served a little too cold as brews often are, the nose and taste were dulled at first to subtle notes of bitter burnt malts, espresso bean and cooling mint. As it begins to warm this stuff really blooms into its full potential. Rich roasted espresso, dark chocolate and peppermint schnapps. This is a wintery stout, but the cooling mint makes it palatable anytime. Mouthfeel is rich and creamy. I really wish they would bottle this stuff. A really unique and delicious desert stout that's miles above their standard Rhodes Scholar. Grab it if you're lucky enough to see it.

edit: I had mis-reviewed this as their regular Coffee Mint Stout a few months ago, so don't you all rush out to Maduro to get some, it's long gone.

When cold, tastes almost exactly like the regular Coffee Mint Stout, with coffee, Andes mint, dark chocolate, and charred wood. As it warms, bourbon shows up. Unfortunately the mint sort of fades away as it warms. It's replaced by woody vanilla bourbon notes, which are nice in themselves, but I think I prefer the non-bourbon version.

Mouthfeel slightly thin for a big stout, but very smooth.

The sweetness and presumably high abv limit the drinkability on this, but it's pretty tasty in small amounts.

I think I might actually like the non-bourbon version better (as I am often prone to feeling), but if you have a chance to try either Coffee Mint Stout from South Shore, they are nicely done.

T - Milk chocolate and black coffee blend nicely with the bourbon barrel and vanilla notes. Peppermint is potent but very good in retention.

M - A little too thin for the name's sake and flavor profile but smooth regardless. Medium-bodied and minty, of course! This one could stand to be much fuller-bodied and rich. Mild solvent alcohol finish.

O - One might not think the mouthfeel is so important in a brew, but it plays a big part and, in this beer, it could stand to be much thicker and warming. That would do big things. I'm always a fan of subtly but more time in the barrels to bring those nuances up would also be good. Otherwise, for $6, this is a fantastic brew.

A- jet black with a one and one-half finger tan head that dissipates to 1/16" and leaves very little lacing in its path.

S- just like an Andes mint with a hint of coffee and bourbon

T- just like the name of the beer!

M- a little thinner than expected, but good carbonation level. It did thicken as it warmed.

O- For the price ($5 or so), I don't think a better bbs is out there. Granted, the drinker has to like mint. This is the first beer I have had that actually contained mint and I really liked it. I hope there is more of this around the next time I make it to Wisconsin.

This pours black, with a brownish head. The head wasn't very thick. The nose is amazing. There's a slight barrel hint to it, but the standout is the mint. It's very strong, but pleasing to the nose. The taste of this beer is interesting. I get minimal hint of the barrel. The mint is strong, but like the nose, pleasing. The coffee is also muted. Slightly watery feeling, but overall this beer works well.

Even cold, this thing smells magical; fresh peppermint is off-set by a just brewed pot of coffee melding perfectly with some quality roasted malts and an oh, so subtle hint of bourbon.

When this hit my tongue my whole being sang! No one flavor outweighs the other. It’s balanced impeccably with cooling mint, a deep roast and round-stout mouthfeel. Initially I was quite leery of this flavor combo, but I cannot emphasize the well-crafted balancing act that this stout demonstrates.

While the heaviness of stouts might start to weigh you down (especially after a couple big IPAs) the mint and coffee in this guy perked me right back up; it opened my senses rather than dulled them.

If you can find this I highly recommend giving it a try. It’s a great spring-time stout that will wake you from your deep winter slumber.

The pour is silky black, even velvety, with a touch of viscosity. Without the chestnut highlights at the very edges of the glass, and only when backlit, this beer is black. An immensely creamy mocha head forms easily on the pour, rising to a respectable finger in height. The foam subsides to a skimming and thick ring while leaving sheet lacing down the glass that eventually slides back into the body. A very handsome beer indeed.

Straight from the bottle comes peppermint and chocolate. After the pour and some warming the peppermint falls back to a component of the stout instead of the dominant aspect. Oh, the peppermint is still there, vivid actually, and playscnicely with the roasty dark chocolate from the base stout. Coffee is mild but what's there is softly sweet and reminiscent of a cup o' joe with a splash of cream. THe barrel shows up deep in the back, vanilla, damp oak, and caramel take some work to pull out. Very nicely done!

The taste naturally follows the nose. First thing that comes to mind is mint chocolate chip ice cream but that quickly fades into dark chocolate and moderately roasted barley. Coffee comes hrough mid-palate with another infusion of roast, softer this time. The barrel adds a touch of sweetness. Vanilla acts as the cream to the coffee. Caramel is rich toward the finish and mild oak, bourbon soaked, finishes things off. The characteristics change greatly on this beer as it warms from the aforementioned ice cream to a coffee stout with subtle barrel notes. I'm a fan.

The body runs along the lines of moderate, which makes sense for a stout around 5%. Carbonation is soft which translates over to the body and leaves a velvety feel. A touch of alcoholic heat and barrel dries out the finish nicely making me want another drink pretty quickly after the last. This is a highly drinkable stout, especially when taking the adjuncts and barrel into consideration.

The first couple times I've tried this beer was at fests and I was a big fan. Then South Shore started bottling. I was excited, picked up bottles a few years in a row. There was always a problem; infection, crazy in-your-face artificial mint, whatever. This bottling is different, it's how the draft version tastes. It's well rounded and delicious, unique. Give this beverine a shot when you get a chance.

I enjoyed this beer from the comfort of my own living room. From the 22oz bottle to my SNC imperial pint glass.

Appearance: Pours very black with a thick, billowy, light chocolate brown head that sticks around for a little bit.

Smell: Mint smacks you in the nose, from the first sniff after the bottle is opened and then again after the first pour. However, after it’s in the glass, the coffee comes through followed by a hint of alcohol.

Taste: Not much of the mint comes through at all, as now chocolate malts dominate along with the coffee. Interesting taste.

Mouthfeel: Thin to medium-bodied. This was thinner than I anticipated. Smooth and nicely carbonated.

Drinkability: I seemed to like the idea of a mint stout more than I actually liked drinking a mint stout. However, I will certainly try again.

Pours a dark hazelnut brown and settles very dark. Less than an inch of head colored light tan. Decent retention. The nose is minty at first, followed by some chocolate and light coffee aromas. The taste resembles a thin mint cookie from the girl scouts. Light mint that isnt too overpowering, sweet milk chocolate and coffee. Very tasty, even more so as it warms. The mouthfeel is medium bodied and sticks to my lips and palate for a while. Overall, great drinkable bourbon barrel stout that incorporates great flavors.

Originally reviewed on September 7, 2005. On tap at the Big Lake Brewfest. BLBF. Pours a deep murky black, with a fringe of ruby. Topped with a sparse bubbly tan head. Aroma is astounding. Like all the best mint flavors that Ive ever enjoyed. A mint truffle, laced with coffee liquer or fresh bouquet of fresh cut mint leaves. All backed with a flash of herbed mint clean chocolate. Flavor continues on this deliciousness, with a fresh burst of Andes mint candies on the fron tend, moving into an acidic fresh roasted Coffee in my mouth, like fresh group drip Italian. Fades into a sugar mint kissed roasted deep chocolate. All of this carried on a swirling sweet clear water, that makes the beer as swillable as it is intricate. Palate is bubbly and fresh, not overly hot with any alcohol. Hops need not apply to this beer, but they may exist. Sugary and bright on the way out. Could not possibly be improved, except for a little more density. Thinness keeps it from excelling. But, overall, an excellent example of a well used Bourbon Barrel.

Big thanks to the Central PA group of the Gang Bang BIF for this bottle!

Hell, I knew I had to try this beer the first time my eyes read its name. Yes. It pours a very dark ruby-tinted black-brown topped by a finger of light brown foam. The nose reminds me of a Mint Meltaway from Fannie May (chocolate and mint dancing together in near-sublime harmony), along with some light char and very light whiskey. The taste brings in more of the same, though the char is more pronounced, the mint is toned-down ever so slightly, and the coffee finally makes itself known. Honestly, I don't get all that much of the barrel myself, but for once that doesn't seem to hurt the experience too much. The body is a light-leaning medium, with a very light moderate carbonation and a sorta watery finish. Overall, a very nice stout, one that showcases the advertised components pretty well. If it weren't for the very lackluster-ly thin and watery body, this would have been close to exceptional in my book.

Pours one shade from black with a 1.5-finger tan head. The head recedes into a wispy layer on top leaving decent lacing.

Smells of lightly roasted malts with moderate amounts of dark chocolate, all joined by solid amounts of mint lurking in the background. Also present are slight vanilla aromas from the oak.

Tastes similar to how it smells. Smooth roasted malt flavors kick things off and are joined quickly by equal amounts of dark chocolate and oak. Midway through the sip the mint becomes more pronounced, but not as much as in the aroma. The oak and roasted malt flavors carry through to a moderately bitter ending.

Mouthfeel is good. It’s got a nice thickness with decent carbonation.

Drinkability is also good. I had no problems finishing my glass and could have another.

Overall I found this to be an interesting beer, not one over which I would clamor to have again, but nice nonetheless. Worth a shot.